On Wings of Freedom We Fly
by Sydopolis
Summary: An AU where Squad Levi lives and Petra takes it onto herself to train the new recruits (with Levi's permission, of course).
1. Introduction

**A/N: This is the introduction so it's a little sloppy (as usual with introductions). This idea was from pasdechat on Tumblr and she accepted my offer to write it for her. Later on there may be some Rivetra scenes among other ships. Be sure to give me feedback so I know what you think and what you want to see!**

The day was silent, peaceful even. It seemed as though everyone was resting in the early morning sun.

Everyone except for the twenty-one figures running around the castle-turned-Survey-Corps-HQ. These were the twenty-one trainees who chose to join the Survey Corps. They were brave, and strong, and smart, and they had to be trained beyond what they had already been.

Petra smiled smugly as she watched them from where she stood. "Two more laps until you're done with your ten!" She called out at them, smiling ever so slightly. She was normally a kind person, and she would still be that way to them. That didn't mean she couldn't train them. She specifically asked Captain Levi for the chance to train them, and there was no way she was going to disappoint.

At her words, a groan of fatigue rolled across the field.

"Isn't this normally your job, Captain?" Gunter asked Levi. The two were sitting at the picnic table outside so they could watch the first day of Survey Corps training. Things were going pretty well so far; Petra was certainly a force to be reckoned with.

The Captain eyed him over the rim of his coffee mug as he took a sip, waiting until he placed it back on the table to speak. "Petra asked if she could do it." He answered as bluntly as he could, not caring to go into the details of the request at the moment: How she wanted to prove herself, how she felt like she needed to do more, etc. He couldn't remember every detail. _All she had to do was ask._

"I see." Gunter's eyes roamed back to the recruits. Soon some of them would be chosen personally by Captain Levi to join the Special Operation Squad. _I wonder who those will be…_ He looked at each and every one of the trainees, sizing them all up. Each had promise in their own way. Mikasa was like a kinder, female Levi, sans experience. Armin was as good a strategist as Erwein. Jean was a good leader. Ymir was strong willed… Each had something to offer to the Special Operation Squad, even Eren. _Wait. _Eren was already in the Squad, so why was he training? Gunter quickly looked at Levi then back to the troops. _I suppose Levi made him train. It would certainly keep him out of trouble._

"I'm very proud of all of you," the new trainer said as the recruits struggled to keep up their salutes and calm their breathing. "You all did very well. Now, I know all of you have different skills, and this training will cover all of them just to be fair." She smiled kindly at all of them, that smile of hers that seemed like there was no evil in the world. "You -"

With the gentle _swoosh_ of fabric, the Captain was standing in front of her, his hands clamped firmly behind his back as he stared down the rookies. Everyone froze. "At the end of this training I will be choosing members to join the Special Operations Squad. Don't let me down." His light blue eyes narrowed as he scanned the group and stepped aside for Petra again. He nodded his head to her once in thanks before walking away.

The young woman never once lost her stride. "Thank you, Captain Levi. Two days ago you all completed your first Survey Corps mission outside of the safety of the walls." Her entire face lit up with a bright smile and she continued, "You are now true members of the Survey Corps. I have faith in each and every one of you."

That night the new members trodded, exhausted, into their rooms. The boys collapsed wordlessly onto their beds. "I can't… Even… Think." The complaint came from Eren, who buried his face in his pillow.

'Why are you even training?" Connie asked as he propped himself up on an elbow. "Aren't you already on the Squad?" The response he received was a few inaudible, muffled words. "What?"

Armin spoke up, breathless, from his bed as he took off his shoes. "Captain made him… Better than doing nothing… Never too good to train…" With a tired sigh, he forced himself to sit up to take off his 3D Manuever Gear strapping. Jean joined him on his bed and put a friendly hand on his shoulder.

"You did well today, Arlert." He grinned kindly. "You kept up with us."

"I would have much rather been working with Hanji…"

A sleepy groan came through the air from Reiner's bed. "Can we just sleep? Please?" The blonde rolled over onto his side and pulled the covers tight over his head, trying to block out all the talking. Luckily, they all agreed and silently moved to their own beds, the tense feeling of exhaustion filling the air.

As soon as the girls shut the door behind them, they erupted into tired conversation. "I like her a lot," Christa blurted out. "She's a great trainer. And she's so nice." A small smile played across the small girl's lips. Ymir nodded in agreement.

"She's alright. Eren seems to like her," Mikasa said in her usual, soft manner. She flushed when Christa looked at her and quickly spoke up to change the topic from Eren before any questions were asked. "What do you think, Sasha?"

The brunette was already crawling lazily into bed, her feet winding up near her pillow. "She's okay… I just want food." As if on cue, her stomach audibly growled, causing the girl to emit a small embarrassed laugh.

"We all need sleep," Mikasa stated bluntly. She knew tomorrow would be just as hard, and the other girls did to. Petra was proving to be a tough trainer, despite being so kind-hearted. This would be a tough month for them.

"Captain?" Petra asked softly from across the table. The members of Squad Levi was all sitting together as they did most nights, talking about nothing in particular. Most nights consisted of talk of plans or action that needed to be taken. With this being training month for the new recruits, there was no need for talk of stuff of that nature.

He looked over at her with his piercing blue eyes, and something within her shivered. "Yes, Petra?" She loved how he said her name, the way it rolled off his tongue and flowed over those lips of his.

She quickly shook those thoughts from his mind, although she couldn't stop the faint blush that rose to her pale cheeks. "Tomorrow is sparring day. Um, Mikasa won't be challenged by any other recruit. Would you want to spar with her?" She smiled faintly. "I think it would make for an interesting match."

Levi's eyes narrowed in thought and he nodded. "Fine."


	2. Day 2

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to a dear friend of mine who had a really rough day. I hope she enjoys it. :) Well, this chapter is pretty basic. As for what's happening at the end, it's based on a little theory I've seen floating around on the internets~ You'll have to wait and see all about it! Please, read, review, and enjoy! If there's any (logical) ideas you have, drop them in a review or something and I'll see if maybe they can be tossed in somewhere.**

All of the rookies stood at salute. They had been quiet all morning, most likely from fatigue. They would have to get used to that for the next month. Petra was walking through their formation, her hands clasped behind her back under her cloak to protect her from the crisp morning air. Her golden eyes were scrutinizing each and every one of them, some part of her hoping at least one of them was doing something horribly wrong. No one was.

As she passed by Sasha, her hand slid out from under her cloak and lightly brushed against the taller girls before she continued walking. Sasha couldn't believe it. That was bread Petra had just slipped into her hand. _More food._ As the woman walked past her, "coincidentally" blocking the brunette from Levi's view, Sasha stuffed the bread into her mouth.

Petra stood facing the entire group. "Today we'll be sparring. This serves two purposes: First, it shows us how good you already are. Second, when we do this later it will show us your ability to improve." She smiled kindly at the group as they tensed at the mention of sparring. "I'll be assigning your sparring partners. Eren, you're with Reiner. Armin, Jean. Sasha's with Connie." She continued listing them off one by one until Mikasa was the only one left. "Mikasa, you're with Levi. Let's go."

At her command, the partners spread out. The blonde gave one member of each group a knife, then stepped back to watch.

Eren and Reiner weren't much of a match at all. The blonde was much larger and stronger, and probably more concentrated than his brunette counterpart. Eren barely had a chance to defend himself before Reiner had knocked him over, pinned him, and grabbed the knife. "There's a lot of work to be done there," Petra mumbled. Eren may have been a strong chance at survival for humanity, and she may have had a lot of faith in him, but he still had a lot of growing to do.

Armin was doing surprisingly well against Jean. She had chosen that match on purpose. She knew the two worked well _together_, so seeing how they fought against each other would be interesting. The blonde was good at analyzing situations and guessing his opponent's moves before they had executed them. This made him good at defense. His small size rendered him fairly agile against a taller adversary, as well. He was playing defense, guarding the knife very carefully. There wasn't much Jean could do. It was a complete standoff. She would just let that keep going until one of them slipped up or tired out.

Her golden eyes shifted to Levi and Mikasa. She had given Levi the knife to give Mikasa the chance to attack. They were both on the defensive, sizing each other up and trying to figure out how to gain the upper hand, it seemed. Then Mikasa made the first move. She lunged for him. He quickly moved to the side, but she had already thought of that. Her arm flew out beside her and managed to catch his wrist. She used his momentum to spin herself around.

The battle picked up from there. Their movements were too quick and graceful for any of the onlookers to successfully see, both of them dodging and attack their opponent. Only one of them had to slip up, and it would be all over. Everyone was watching now, in awe of the skill the two possessed.

Mikasa's foot made contact with Levi's jaw. No one knew how it happened, but it sent him back a step. It was just the gap she needed. She ran at him, her gaze focused on the knife. She hadn't noticed that his feet shifted, planting firmly in the ground. When she reached him, he quickly sidestepped and kicked out her knees. She fell to the ground with a grunt and he quickly pinned her, the knife firmly in his hand still. "You're dead." He stood up and wiped a trail of blood from his chin.

_That was too close to comfort,_ he thought. _I need to be careful around her._ Petra watched the way they interacted carefully. There was no conversation, no politeness. He was actually careful of what he said around her. It was odd. She knew Mikasa was strong- she had just seen her almost successfully take out the Captain- but still. Something was wrong. Mikasa was mad at him for beating up Eren, but why did he care?

She shook those thoughts from her mind as she watched him head into the castle. Turning back to the recruits, some of which were bruised up now, she smiled. "Turn in the knives to Erd." She looked at all of the rookies. They were such a diverse group… _That's why they make a good team. _"You can take a break!"

As she turned to join Gunter at the table, a voice behind her spoke up. "Ma'am?" Petra turned back around. Christa was walking briskly over to her.

Petra smiled a little. "Please, call me Petra. What do you need?" She had never actually spoken to Christa, but she knew everyone liked her. She seemed like a sweet girl.

"I was just wondering… What's it like being the only girl on the Squad? Is it weird at all?" Surprisngly, she had never been asked that question before.

She had to think about it. "It's not weird. It's actually nice," she began with a light smile. "My skills were recognized, and that's an extreme honor to me."

Christa smiled. "You're great at what you do," she said before quickly saluting and walking off to Ymir's side.

_Well, _ Petra thought with a grin. _I may no longer be the shortest person in the Survey Corps, but I'm also no longer the sweetest. _These kids were all so nice. It's a shame so many of them had such a rough life. Her heart broke for each of them.

* * *

Dinner that night was strange. The recruits kept their conversation quiet. Squad Levi was its normal self, with its odd mix of laughter and serious conversation. Levi was quiet. He didn't even seem like he was listening. He usually contributed at least slightly to the conversation.

He seemed distracted. Every now and then his gaze would flick to Mikasa, who was glaring steadily at him as she ate and talked to Eren, then away again in an instant. Petra frowned a little. He was thinking of something, something that was bothering him.

She didn't follow him when he excused himself from the table and went to his room early. She would find out what was wrong eventually, but not yet.

"You're doing well, Petra." Auluo raised his glass with a wide, obnoxious smile at her. "To Petra, for being a cold-hearted trainer!" She gave him a swift kick under the table, but she couldn't hide her small smile as the group chimed in with a loud "To Petra!"

Maybe she was doing her job right.


	3. Keep Going

**A/N: Okay, this chapter totally sucks. However, it will get better from here on out now that I know what I plan on doing with this story. Please bear with me!**

Hanji stopped by to watch the training every now and then, scoping them out for promising members of her Squads. Erwin did the same, although he wasn't quite as intense with it. Hanji hung right near Petra most of the time, occasionally wandering through the recruits to examine them up close. It was rather amusing to watch, if not a little frustrating. It did keep them on edge, though, which was good for testing them.

Erwin, on the other hand, watched from a distance with Levi. He sat in silence mostly, occasionally making idle conversation with the Squad Captain.  
"Is there anyone promising?" he asked one day.

Levi shrugged and sipped his coffee. "A few," he said dismissively. He knew very well who looked the most promising for each of them. Now it just depended on who actually stuck out the training without breaking.

The commander nodded, watching the recruits. One was missing, one he had been keeping an eye on himself. So was Hanji, he noticed. _Of course…_  
He knew it was only a matter of time before the scientist decided to take him under her wing and blind him with science. I guess that's where they are now, Erwin thought. Armin wasn't as strong of a fighter as the others, but his mind was excellent. He was going to be a great benefit for the Survey Corps. Petra seemed to notice at the same time Erwin did that the boy was missing, as a small frown fell across her lips. She sent the recruits to do some exercises and walked over to the two men. "Did Hanji run off with Armin?"

"It would appear so," Erwin answered. Levi hadn't been talking much since his fight with Mikasa, but Petra still hadn't pushed the subject. She figured he'd come around in his own time. A sigh passed through her lips. Armin needed to be training, not fooling around with science, no matter how smart he was.

"I'm going to go find him. Can you take over with the recruits, Captain?" Levi nodded and stood up, walking over to them.

"Okay, I'm in charge for the time being."

* * *

She knocked on the door to Hanji's lab. Silence. With a sigh, she knocked again, louder this time. "Come in," Hanji's chipper voice called from the other side of the door. Petra walked inside. Hanji and Armin were examining some papers and some other things that she didn't quite understand. They both looked very excited and into whatever it was they were reading. Hanji looked up and smiled at Petra. "This boy is a genius!"  
The strawberry-blonde nodded. "I'm aware. He's also needed in training."

Hanji looked at her with pleading eyes. "I know, but please let him stay." Petra crossed her arms and looked up at the taller woman in a no-nonsense way.

"Hanji," she said sternly. "Captain Levi put me in charge of these recruits, and, like it or not, Armin is one of them. He needs to train."  
As the scientist sighed in defeat, knowing she wouldn't sway Petra, Armin scrawled something down on the paper. "That should help you keep going," he said. "I'll come here on a free day. If we get one," he added after a sharp look from Petra. Hanji nodded.

"Keep on thinking, Arlelt. If you get any ideas, let me know!" she called after them as they left.

The smaller woman just smiled a little and shook her head. "You're going to have her and Erwin fighting over you, you know?"  
Armin looked taken aback. "What? Why?"

Petra smiled warmly at him. "You're very smart."

"Thank you."

* * *

They came back to see all the recruits utterly exhausted already. It wasn't even midday yet. Clearly Levi wasn't in a mood to screw around. "I'm back," she said as she walked up behind him. "Get with the others, Arlelt."

Levi nodded as she took his place. "You're doing a good job, Petra," he said. It was the first time he had spoken on an almost-personal level with her since he started acting weird.

"Thank you, Captain," she responded. A faint blush fell across her cheeks, but she didn't stutter.

"Just keep up the good work," he said as he walked away.

* * *

The next day was a test "expedition." It was very similar to the ones they went on during their training days, except a lot more rigorous. It was raining, so things were a hell of a lot more dangerous. The recruits were also very sore.

"Move out!" Levi called from his horse. There were a few squad leaders there to scope them out, and their teams were operating the titan dummies. On his mark, the recruits split into three groups, riding off in three directions. Mikasa was in charge of one, Armin another, and the third was led by Jean. Mikasa's group consisted of Eren and Bertholt. Armin was in charge of Reiner, Ymir, and Christa. Jean led Connie and Sasha. All of them worked exceedingly well together.

Auruo rode up beside Petra as she watched them fight, so graceful despite how sore they much have been. "You're doing good," he said. Surprisingly, he wasn't blabbering on like he normally did. "We're all proud of y-" And he bit his tongue.

Petra laughed. "Maybe you need to keep your mouth shut." He grimaced playfully at her.

"They are doing well, though, aren't they?" Petra asked. Part of her hated that they were doing so well. It would force them into dangerous situations. Most of them would die within a few years. She glowered at the thought. They would just have to keep fighting. She had faith in them.


End file.
